Book 2.0

Books aren't dead, they're just going digital. So says the cover of this weeks (NOV 26th) Newsweek magazine. The article, centered around Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com and creator of the new Amazon Kindle, examines the future of reading and the future of the book. Great article and I would encourage everyone out there to read it asap. The Kindle is the latest technological device for digital reading. It has it all: wireless Wispernet, E ink (breakthrough product that mimics the clarity and print of a printed book), it's the size of a paperback, weights 10.3 ounces, 30 hours of reading on a rechargeable battery, changeable font size, it's hold 200 books in memory with more on a memory card, and of course an unlimited amount in a virtual library maintained by Amazon. OK, I'm not done yet. The reader can search within the book for a phrase or name, you can in fact search for a book on Amazon, use the keyboard to order the book and have it downloaded to your Kindle in less than a minute and cheaper to, new releases starting at 9.99, with some books at only 1.99. In addition, you can subscribe to newspapers and the new publications are sent directly to your Kindle. The Kindle can also look things up on the web, search Google, and link to and from blogs; it even has an electronic highlighter. WOW, sounds amazing. Oh, what does it cost you ask? Well, that is a bit of a downer at $399 big ones. Hey, if you've got the cash and certainly if you travel a lot, it is definitely worth it.
The implications:
Of course no one wants to see an end of the book. But the question remains, aren't digital books still books? Could it possibly lead to a greater number of readers? In the article Bezos asks himself, "why do I love these physical objects.....the smell of glue and ink"? He says it's because the smell is associated with all the places a book takes him to, all the emotions, all the words and ideas. Critics have until recently believed electronic devices could not accomplish this for a reader, but it is now being disproved; the electronic reader has the same effect as the print version.
Further implications are:
Changes in the publishing industry and they are already resisting the model put forth by Amazon of charging less for books.
Corrections or updates could be made instantly without reprints.
There could be continuous books; books that are purchased knowing an author will add to it in the future or on a regular basis.
Cutting book prices in half could double book sales; who doesn't want to sell more books?
Book 2.0 could have implications like web 2.0; interaction of books and authorship and continuous books, wiki style books (just like Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything).
Reading becomes a community activity.
Could cause a decline or not in printed books.
Well, one last point-Libraries. Libraries were not mentioned in the article and as a librarian and friend of many librarians and one who loves books deeply, I must ask what does this mean for the library? For starters, we still have books in print, so yeah and on we go. For seconds, this technology is very cool, very interactive, transportable, flexible, and so on. Lets embrace it, lets offer these type of services at the library (how about a free downloadable book for your Kindle)and lets move into the future with Amazon and technology instead of lagging behind and trying to resist an inevitable change.

Thanksgiving

GIVE ME TURKEY !!

Well this is my I'm oh so thankful for blogs and technology blog. A digital camera, some adobe photo shop (2 images)+ image ready to combine the photos at whatever speed, then top it off with a little html to load it onto the blog. I hope everyone appreciates this very glamorous picture of me and if you haven't tried it, what better time than the holidays! And even though this blog is lacking in intelligent prose, the new technology should be classified as a learning by doing achievement.(OK Doc!)

Where is the Metadata?

Yes, I am still recovering from the aquabrower presentation and the fact that even Amazon uses the metadata provided by OCLC which is the same metadata libraries use. At least that is what I inferred from some recent information, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. The point is, it's available and why isn't my library using the metadata and technology to it's full potential? Even without AquaBrowser, the options are endless and awesome and user friendly and cool and technologically updated and aesthetically pleasing and descriptive and what is taking so long for public libraries (not all) to start using this great metadata?
My upset was re-ignited earlier today as I was looking up a public library in California for a patron/customer/guest. I accidentally stumbled upon a library in New York, The South Huntington Public Library, and it is awesome. They have 24 hour librarian reference; RosettaStone, which is online software to learn languages; SuffolkWave, free digital downloads of books, movies, how-to's and music; next reads (self explanatory); online homework help with tutor.com; covers of materials along with descriptions; online signup for programs; beyond Google, a very user friendly guide to using databases; and the catalog, what can I say, it's not a one box search like Google or AquaBrowser, but it has a clear and efficient search including loan rules, request for purchase, ipod options and more, all available for the patron/customer/guest. I just need to say that I think it is very COOL and my library does not have any of these things. Ok we do have ebooks, but it seems so small in comparison.
So what is taking many public libraries so long to use available technology and metadata to benefit the patron and make the library more user friendly? I am looking into it and will try to report back if I find a substantial answer.

Librarians Rock!

I say this with as much enthusiasm as I can possibly muster-librarians rock! Yes, it's true and going to a library conference of any kind is an excellent learning experience. My last post was solely about David Silver and his presentation, but there were other speakers at the ACRL conference. Lynn Connaway from OCLC discussed statistics based research and gave user "quotes" answering the question, Why not libraries? The answers were very mixed but the unifying theme appeared to be that the library is not user friendly, like Google.
Well, I believe librarians love Google as much as our users, but we also understand the necessity to catalog and organize information and yes, we do want it to be user friendly. Which is why the presenter, Anne Prestamo from OSU, showing off their new BOSS catalog was so cool. It is powered by the giant AquaBrowser and they have what I think is a "Google like" interface. It has one search box, spelling suggestions, alternative words and subject suggestions, book covers with summary and table of contents and it is very easy to use. AquaBrowser is one of the finest catalog systems I have seen and it is going to be very interesting to watch and see how widespread it is used.
The last speaker I will mention was Adri Edwards from Norman Public Library. She gave us a fast paced breakout session on blogging. Not how to set up a blog or make it look good, but on the rules, regulations, copyright and avoiding trouble. In addition, Adri showed us how to set up open source tracking software to view user visits. It was very cool and she did a great job with her presentation.
So, the conference was cool. If you haven't been to one lately, go for it!

Library 2.0 and David Silver

Can anyone imagine a combination that could be any more fun? Well neither can I, unless of course it had been a private dinner instead of a conference. Well, dreams aside, David's casual and "conscious" presence was very engaging. He proved to be insightful, a natural speaker and gave me a lot to think about.

Something David mentioned about web 2.0, is it's interactive culture. I very much agree with this and I think it is something we all love. And yet, it seems to be missing in several places: the job atmosphere (employee/employer collaborative relations) and the student/patron atmosphere, in conjunction with libraries and/or library staff. This interactive culture needs to be promoted (thank you David), explored and improved.

Another point worth mentioning is that users of technology don't equal users of other technology (ie facebook is not like using databases); that consumers of information can be shallow and information is rarely transferred to knowledge. David was referring mainly to students, but I see the same phenomena with patrons at my public library. People, without direction and instruction, are not utilizing technology and information resources to the full potential; they are not transferring the information to knowledge. As information professionals we need to be aware of this problem and look for solutions.

The last point David made was actually a series of ideas for the new interactive culture in which we live. He asked "what would a library look like when students are giving?" He suggested we look for ways to use student driven data (ie a book list by students for other students after a study abroad), student book displays and student blogging. David mentioned he always gives his students "in library" assignments: observe book display, interview librarian, blog about the experience, students comment and librarian comment. WOW-librarian comment- this really drew the students in and made them feel apart of the library.

These student assignments, I believe, are key. Although I am no great blogger yet, I don't know if I would have even tried without being forced into it by my fabulous professor Doc Martens!

And yes, I will post more on the other parts of the conference later in the week.

Are libraries really for EVERYONE?

I recently attended a workshop titled A Place For Everyone. The intent was to bring together librarians to discuss ways we can help and promote an environment in libraries for those members of society who are considered either homeless or poor. It was not the intent to leave out other groups who might also need services, but homelessness and libraries is one specific issue that needs to be addressed and that was the focus of this workshop.

The president of the Homeless Alliance, Dan Straughan, gave an extended presentation and role play exercise to help us experience what homelessness might be like. Highlights from his presentation include:
1. He has personally created a database which is now shared by all service agencies. It is an excellent resource for the providers as it allows them to help the recipient keep track of where and when they have appointments and help them to get there. For example, their case worker can schedule a doctors appointment, is and if they went or not. If not, they can reschedule it for them, give them a bus pass, etc.
2. His knowledge of the homeless was extensive and he wanted to make sure we knew that the fastest growing segment of homeless are families with children.
3. He is starting a day shelter in Oklahoma City called WestTown. It will house agencies such as a pharmacy, library extension, employment training, medical clinic, government benefits, mental health treatment and more. Please feel free to check out the website for further information at http://homelessalliance.org/projects.htm.

Due to some recent cases having gone to trial concerning library services to the homeless, two of the presenters were lawyers from the ACLU. However, review of the first amendment is always advantageous for librarians. The hot topics were:
1. The library is a limited public forum
2. What is fairness vs library tolerance
3. Importance of written policy with specific and non-ambiguous language, ie nuisance as opposed to objectionable
4. Not to impede the corollary right to receive information

The third presenters were from Positive Tomorrows, an educational service for homeless children. The most important points were:
1. Literacy is the biggest barrier
2. They are encouraging libraries to bring their services to the shelters
3. This agency is a service provider specifically to homeless children and their parents, they provide an excellent service, want to work with libraries and will take any referrals.

I hope I haven't been too long winded or too brief. My finals points are:
1. Services are available, but if they are inaccessible they cannot be helpful.
2. Libraries are, like it or not, service providers to the homeless and we need to help.
3. There are so many areas for librarians to be involved, it doesn't have to be with the homeless. Pick an area that is interesting to you and get involved. It will improve the library, the community and yourself.

And the answer to the question is......YES, libraries are for everyone!

wiki, wiki, wiki

A wiki is an expression of democracy, if anyone wants my personal description. It is also described as a medium through which, hopefully true information, can be added or edited by anyone with access to it. It is therefore collaborative and easy to use. An area of some information disconnect that directly affects librarians or certainly library services is instruction. I will very soon be contributing to the Wiki, Library Success: A best practices Wiki. My contribution will entail the importance of instruction for online catalogs and databases for 1st year students. Weekly, no exaggeration here, I teach students (college students)how to use their school library on-line resources to look up book holdings and mostly journal articles----I work at a public library. There is a real need for 1st year students to have some real hands on training in order to use the resources provided for them at the library. And I don't mean they should come in on their own time and get a few minutes of instruction. Students need a required tutorial. Yes, many students are savvy on-line users, they can blog, e-mail, game and so on, but they are not versed in library usage. Searching the databases is probably not considered "fun" and most students have not taken the initiative to learn on their own and are not being required to learn it as part of their education. It is a resource they need for classes and should have official instruction.
No, they don't need to go to library school, librarians are available to assist. But they should have at least some basic instruction. So, on my Wiki, I will provide some background on the importance of instruction and suggestions for how that instruction could be implemented for 1st year students.